Stella Rooflight guest writer, and award-winning lead specialist, Tim Fuge asks the question ‘why choose lead for rooflight flashing kits’ and looks at why lead flashing kits for rooflights are much better than modern, cheaper materials.
Longevity
When choosing a building material, the lifespan is one of the most important factors. Particularly for roofing because the difficulty of access means the maintenance, or even inspection, is difficult and costly. Unfortunately many cheaper lead-free alternatives are being used to replace lead, even on traditional buildings (often with a 20 year warranty).
The hugely reduced cost may be appealing, but the truth is that no-one really knows how long they will last, and routinely inspecting the condition will be necessary.
Often these alternatives are expected to last only 20-30 years and once failure has begun, a costly replacement is imminent, requiring the full removal of the entire rooflight frame. Lead will outlast some of these products 5 times over.
Lead has been used in roofing for over 2000 years, and has been known, in certain situations to last hundreds of years. When fitted correctly, lead flashing on a roof should last up to 150 years, possibly up to 7 times longer than the man-man alternatives.
Choosing a lead flashing kit for your rooflight will give the peace of mind knowing that you have chosen a premium product that will reward your roof with decades of maintenance free protection.
Appearance
If you’re choosing a premium range rooflight, it’s likely that the appearance of your roof is of upmost importance. Lead is the perfect choice to complement your rooflight.
Lead develops its grey patina over the first few months of installation, then continues to provide a stable, durable, and predictable colour for decades. Again, with the cheaper alternatives, no-one really knows what to expect over the decades, and what effect different environmental conditions will have on them.
Eco-credentials
This is where lead stands out against almost all other materials used in the construction industry. A heavy metal probably isn’t what springs to mind when asked to name one of the ‘greenest’ building materials. But as the carbon footprint of the industry has been under close scrutiny in recent years, lead has proved itself as an important player.
Lead is the most recycled of all building materials. Nearly 100% of it is reclaimed, recycled and reused. Even the recycling of lead is far more environmentally friendly than that of other metals. This is because the low melting point of 327°C means that less energy is required.
As a result, lead is in the BRE Green Guide – which outlines the environmental impact of building materials – and is an A+ or A rated material, one of the most environmentally friendly materials in the industry, and far below the man-made alternatives.
Even at the end of its life, it is simply recycled and reused again and again, unlike a lot of the alternatives that can’t be recycled and will simply end up in land fill.
